CLEARWATER, Fla. -
The UMass softball team finished the USF Under Armour Showcase with a 2-1 win over Florida Gulf Coast, improving to an 11-8 record on the season. Sara Plourde pitched her third no-hitter of the season in the win, while striking out 13 batters.

The game started off slow, with no hits recorded until the bottom of the third inning. Anna Kelley started UMass off with a double to left field, and then a sacrifice bunt from Christine Della Vecchia got her to third. Cyndil Matthew, who has a .441 batting average on the season, beat the throw to first by a hair and allowed Kelley to score, giving UMass the one run advantage.

UMass tallied two more hits in the bottom of the fourth but were unable to convert those to runs. Kyllie Magill had a single to right center and just beat the throw to first. Stephanie Mayne singled to center field, leaving two runners on at the end of the inning.

The Minutewomen added another run to the scoreboard in the bottom of the fourth off of four hits. Matthew started things off with a triple to right center, which almost looked like it could have been an inside-the-park homerun. That was the first triple UMass has hit this season. Quianna Diaz-Patterson then singled to first base, reaching only because of her speed, allowing Matthew to score. Katie Bettencourt and Lindsey Webster would each add a single to the board, but the Minutewomen would not score again in the inning or the game.

UMass got into a tough spot in the top of the seventh when two walks and a batter that was hit by a pitch loaded the bases. A line drive was hit into the glove of Teea Rogers at third and though she couldn't hold on to it some quick fielding by Diaz-Patterson threw the runner out at home. The next batter was walked, however, and that allowed Florida Gulf Coast to score their only run of the game. With bases loaded and one out, Plourde managed to strike out the next two batters, the first on a 1-2 count and the last on a full count.

Matthew had two hits and an RBI in the game and Bettencourt recorded one hit and an RBI. The Minutewomen play again on Monday at USF at 6:00 p.m.